The Crocodile Bird

This was fascinating, revealing a world of such protection and isolation that a young girl of 16, Liza, flees her home as her mother is arrested for murder and she has literally never been on her own or even outside of the immediate grounds.

As it unfolds, it is unclear whether Eve, her mother, is criminally insane or just has had certain circumstances happen that have led her to protect herself and her daughter from harm. The protection goes so far as to have her daughter never see a television, read any books other than 19th century novels, and see any people outside of a handful that were on the isolated property.

As Liza tells her story to her boyfriend, we see his horror at what she reveals, and her lack of understanding about why show more he is horrified. I liked that he is an honest young man who wants to do right although he has had an uneducated background. They seem like a poor fit, though, and this becomes more apparent as time goes on. We're never too sure whether Liza is basically psychologically OK, or if she mirrors some of the issues evident with her mother.

It was an interesting read, a bit creepy at times, but the love of the two was evident and I found myself liking Eve more than I expected I should. I like books that make me think about the characters after the book is done, and this one did. show less

Well, this is how it's done. A cracking good story, well told. 16-year-old Liza knows next to nothing about the world outside Shrove, the estate she's grown up on, with only her mother Eve for companionship. Eve has educated her well, within bounds that do not stretch far into the 20th century. Liza does not know about television, understands little of math or science (beyond the natural world), and her concept of society is formed by reading mainly 19th century novels. Yet she is fluent in Latin, knows much of Shakespeare by heart, and has seen her mother shoot a man. The older she gets, the more the modern world seeps into her consciousness, despite all her mother can do to keep it out. This is mighty good stuff, with hints of Jane show more Eyre, Shirley Jackson, Scheherazade, and Blue Beard. I wanted to read it to the exclusion of everything else I was meant to be doing. I thought I saw the end coming, and I was wrong. Damned near 5 stars.
Review written October 2014 show less

Oh dear. Another book I’ve read but forgot I’d read it.

Often that’s why I write a brief review: so I’ll remember the book, or at least can check to see if I liked it.

Liza, who is 16, has been raised and educated by her mother, Eve, in nearly total isolation. They live in the gatehouse of a beautiful estate, Shrove. Eve loves Shrove to the point of distraction, partly because it’s her childhood home, and partly because it provides her and Liza with a quiet and peaceful haven from the world. For the world has been cruel to Eve, and she is determined that Liza won’t be hurt.

But the world intrudes even here, and Eve takes drastic steps to keep her haven.

This is a slow-moving, atmospheric book, with lush descriptions of show more Shrove’s natural beauty and the mostly calm, rather idyllic way that Liza and Eve live. But Edens can’t exist forever; Satan or some other evil intrudes and the respite is left in ruins.

My opinion (you know, the one I can’t remember) has improved from my first reading four years ago. I became completely immersed in Liza’s world: it all seemed believable, if odd. I was prepared to give this a full five stars, but the ending was, for me, facile. I don’t want to spoil it for any other readers so I’ll just leave it there.

Recommended to those who love gothic novels. This is an excellent modern rendition of that genre.

Note: The one scene I remembered was about two-thirds of the way into the book, and was quite brief. It’s intriguing to me that what sticks in one’s memory is often rather inconsequential to the rest of the book. show less

No time for more than a brief note, alas.

Liza Beck was raised by her mother Eve in isolation from the world, living in the gatehouse to a stately home, Shrove, tucked away miles from anywhere in the English countryside. The day the cops arrive to take Eve away is the day Liza, by now 16, flees to the arms of her itinerant-gardener lover Sean, in whose arms and in whose caravan she tells her story, Scheherazade-like -- her story of the obsession Eve bore for Shrove, and the men she murdered in order to keep herself and Liza safe from outside interference. Intermingled with Liza's reminiscences is the tale of her life with Sean in the present, as she tries to adapt to an outside world she's never known, and he tries to adapt to her.

When I show more picked the book up I was unaware that I'd read it many years ago, probably not long after it first came out. Within a few pages, obviously, I realized. But by then Rendell had pulled me in just as she had the first time, and anyway I'd forgotten enough of the details that I was still surprised in all the right places. This is one of the best of her books that I've read; much recommended. show less

This was such a creepy and compelling read - I found it very hard to put down. The writing is excellent, and I loved how seamlessly the narrative moved between the past and the present. Really well done.

4.5 stars

Liza, a young girl of sixteen must flee from her secluded home, the gatehouse of a great mansion, to avoid being questioned by the police about a crime that her mother Eve has just committed. She makes her way to her lover and proceeds to tell him, in the style of The Arabian Nights, the story of how she came to be in this situation, in the process revealing a life story full of intrigue and horror. Until then, Eve had tried her best to shield Liza from the world and all its modern amenities, and most of what Liza knows about life is gleaned from the 19th century books available in the mansion. Liza looks just like Eve, and must find out whether she is a an exact copy of her mother in deed as well as in looks, or whether she can show more exercise her own free will. I found this tale quite gripping, enough so to include it among my favourite reads of the year, and the narration by Juliet Stephenson was of course excellent. show less

Eve and her daughter Liza live an isolated existence in the gatehouse of a beautiful British estate tucked away far from anything or anyone. Eve has kept her daughter away from people and everything in the outside world. Liza has only met a handful of people by the time she is sixteen, and while she has been "home schooled" by her mother, she is pitifully unaware of life. She has read loads of 19th century literature and can recite Shakespeare, but she doesn't know math or anything about money. As the book begins, the police have been to see Eve about the shooting of the estate owner, and she knows they will be back. She sends Liza off with money and instructions to get to London to stay with one of her mother's friends. Does she get show more there? You'll have to read the book to find out. And, as you read, the story will unfold slowly. Layer after layer will be peeled back revealing why Eve is obsessed with Shrove House, and why she has vowed to protect her daughter from the realities of life, even if it means she must commit murder.

This was my first Rendell, but if they are all this good, it won't be my last.

Read November 2014 show less